Exclusive: Jim Rash and Nat Faxon to Direct Community Episode

In a Season 3 episode of Community, Dean Craig Pelton breaks down after trying to direct an out-of-control commercial for Greendale College. Now, Jim Rash — the actor behind the Dean — is stepping behind the Community lens for real.

Rash and his longtime directing/writing partner Nat Faxon have signed on to direct the second episode of Community's upcoming Season 6 (premiering in early 2015 on Yahoo! Screen). The episode represents the first time any of the Community stars have directed the show.

The Rash/Faxon episode will introduce Keith David's character, Elroy Patashnik, a retired scientist who comes to Greendale to reinvent himself.

Rash previously wrote an episode of Community during Season 4 ("Basic Human Anatomy"). He and Faxon's script for the film The Descendants won the Academy Award for best adapted screenplay, and the duo also wrote and directed last year's indie The Way Way Back. They also directed last season's Fox pilot Fatrick. Next up, Rash and Faxon are writing and directing the film The Heart, starring Sam Rockwell, Kristen Wiig and Allison Janney.

Among their other credits, Rash hosts SundanceTV's The Writers Room and provides a voice on Adult Swim's Mike Tyson Mysteries, while Faxon stars on FX's Married.